Knitting machine



April 18, 1933. J. F. MEYER KNITTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 27, 1950 4Sheets-Sheet l \-/INVENTOR 1 elw B AHQR NE April 18, 1933.

J. F. MEYER KNITTING MACHINE Filed Feb; 27, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2INXENTOR 2 AT ORNE A ril 18, 1933. J. F. MEYER KNITTING MACHINE 4Sheet-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 27, 1930 INVENTOR AT ORNEY April 18, 1933. J.F. MEYER 1,904,501

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 27, 1930 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Apr. 18,1933 UNITED STATES JOSEPH F. MEYER, OI ORANGE, NEW JERSEY KNITTINGMACHINE Application filed February 27, 1930. Serial No. 431,700.

provide the machine in a relatively simple and compact form, thecapacity and character of work accomplished, considered.

Other desirable objects and the novel features of construction,combinations and relations of parts by which the same are attained willappear in the course of the following specification.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of the specificationillustrate one practical commercial form of the invention, but

it will become apparent particularly from the broad scope of the claimsfollowing that the actual structure may vary as regards this disclosurewithout departure from the true spirit of the invention.

Fig. l is a broken end or front elevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is anenlarged, broken and part sectional detail illustrating particularly thefeeding-in action of the pattern links; Fig. 3 is a broken plan view ason substantially the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a brokensideview looking toward one of the shifting bar carriers, frame portionsand other details of the machine being omitted; Fig. 5 is across-sectional view as on substantially the plane of line of Fig. 3;Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional details of the link conveyer as on. lines66, 77 of Fig. 1; Figs. 8 and 9 are broken sectional enlargements of thelink feeding and dropping mechanism; Fig. 10 is an enlarged brokensectional detail of one of the spring detents at the foot of the linkguide; Fig. 11 is a broken detail of one of the link conveyer chains.

In the general view, Fig. 1, it will be observed that the presentmachine differs from the standard type of machine first in that insteadof a single row there are two rows 15, 16, of the rods or bars carryingthe thread tubes 17. These rows are arranged one above the other and forthe sake of greater compactness the bars of the two rows are shown, Fig.4, as disposed in staggered relation in the vertically sliding supports18. Because of this staggered arrangement the operating heads 19 on theouter ends of these slide bars are shown as of tapered shape, those ofthe upper row pointing downward and those of the lower row pointingupward in between the upper heads, in substantially parallel sidedrelation. This construction and arrangement in turn brings the two rows20,. 21 of the pins for operating the slide bars more nearly into theplane of a single horizontal row, as will be clear from Fig. 4, enablingthe use of narrower and smaller backs 22 for carrying the pins.

The usual means, such as a cam 23 and rocker. arms 24, 25, may beemployed for raising and lowering the slide bar supports 18, Fig. 4.This same View illustrates the general relation of the bed 26, carryingthe needles 27, which are advanced by a pusher 28 and returned by apuller 29, also the threads 30 passing down through the reciprocatingguide tubes,'meeting the warp threads 31 at the needles to form thefinished fabric 32. v

The pattern links, that is the backs 22, carrying the upper and lowerrows in sets of pins 20, 21, are traversed in an orbit by spacedparallel chains 33, 34, supported by upper and lower sprockets 35, 36 onsuitably driven shafts 37, 38. At a point in this orbit opposite theslide rods, the links are diverted, oneat a time, used to actuate therods and then returned to the regular orbital travel. The means foraccom- 9o plishing this comprise in the illustration the open-endedchannel guides 39, Fig. 1, substantially tangential to the uppersprockets to receive the backs of the links and inclined downwardlytherefrom toward the adjacent side of the machine, the links droppingfrom these guides one at a time into a horizontal Way 40, in which theyare advanced by a pusher 41 and then drop into channel ways 42 inclineddownwardly and mo back into tangential relation to the lower sprockets.

The pusher 41 is shown as a crosshead carried by parallel arms 43sliding in undercut ways 44, in a table 45, said arms being connected atthe rear by a link 46 with a swinging lever 47, oscillated by a suitablepitman 48.

Propulsion of the links by the chains is effected in the presentdisclosure through the medium of lugs or studs 49 on the back oftorestrain and position the bottom link as it slides into the horizontalway under the impulse of the pusher. The side arms 43 of this pusher areindicated in Fig. 2 as being flush with the top of the pusher so as toact as a cut-off preventing the next link from dropping down as thefirst link is thrust forward by the head of the pusher.

Dash pots 54 are shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and 8 for controlling andcushioning the forward stroke of the links and for returning them backto the dropping out station at the head of the return chute 42, Fig. 9.These dash pots are indicated in Fig. 3 as having pistons 55 andprojecting piston rods 56, carrying heads 57 positioned in thehorizontal way to engage the end portions of the links. Springs 58acting on the pistons cause them to closely follow the retreatingmovement of the pusher head and hence to definitely return the links tothe dropping out position, Fig. 9.

To trip the links and drop them out of the grip of the pusher head asthey reach the return chute on the backstroke, stripper fingers 59 areShown pivoted at the sides of the horizontal way, adapted to lift anddrop behind the links on the forward stroke, Fig. 8, thus to positionthemselves to act as stops to arrest the return movement of the links ata point over the mouth of the re turn chute. Fig. 9 shows how the lowertracks of the horizontal way 40 are interrupted at the mouth of thereturn chute. This gap at 60 permits the links to fall into this chuteas the pusher head backs away from supporting engagement with the lugs49 when the links are caught by the strippers. On the forward strokehowever, this gap is of no effect as during such time the links arecarried over it supported by their lugs 49 seated in the pockets 52 inthe face of the pusher.

It will be understood that the link feeding and circulating mechanismshown at the right in Fig. 1 is repeated in reversed relation at theopposite side of the machine, the parts being so timed that as a link isadvanced into one side of the machine, the companion link will also beadvanced at the opposite side of the machine, the pins of the linksmatching in length to effect the requisite traverse of the slide rodscarrying the thread guides.

The two rows of rods gives the machine amuch greater capacity and thepossibility of a much greater variety of patterns than heretoforeattainable; the loose or separate form of .pattern link enables themachine to be set up with more links more easily and quicker than wherethe links are connected in a continuous chain as in previous practiceand this construction, with the vertical travel of the links provides amore compact assemblage.

he take-off and return chutes 39, 42, confine and guide the links at theinside run of the chains, Fig. 1 and straight channel guides are shownat 61, guiding the links at the outer run, from the lower to the uppersprockets. Suitable guides may be provided about the sprockets such asthe inner and outer rows of guide rolls 62, 63, about the uppersprockets, Fig. 1 and 6 and the outer row of guide rolls around thelower sprocket as illustrated at 64 in Figs. 1 and 7. Some of the linksmay be blanks that is with out pins as indicated by way of example inFigs. 1 and 2. To enable quick insertion or removal of the links, theguidesmay be constructed with a gate substantially as indicated at 65 inFigs. 1 and 9, this consisting in the illustration simply of a hingedsection of the return chute 42, which can be opened up to enable thereplacement or removal of the links.

The arrangement of the reciprocating thread guide bars in the staggeredorder and one row above the other, with the tap-pets on the ends ofthese rods in alternating order and extending toward a commonintermediate plane greatly increases the capacity of the machine,disposes this greater number of thread guide bars in a single compactgroup, which can be properly handled by the liftin and loweringmechanism and enables the pattern links to be made as rel atively smalllight members having narrow backs occupying but small space, so that agreat number of them may be employed in the circuit.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knitting machine, the combination of reciprocating thread guidebars arranged in rows, one row above the other, pattern links carryingactuating pins disposed in superposed rows to cooperate with thesuperposed row of bars, means for effecting operating engagement of thelinks with the bars and means for circulating said pattern links to andaway from said operating means, said links being unconnected and saidcirculating means being constructed to handle said unconnected links inserial order.

2. In a knitting machine, the combination with reciprocating threadguide bars, of a series of loose unconnected pattern links forcooperative engagement with said guide bars, means for efiectinoperative engagement of the links with the guide bars and means forsequentially traversing said loose unconnected links in a circuit to andaway from said operating means.

3. In a knitting machine, the combination of reciprocating thread guidebars, a pusher stationed in definite relation to said bars, looseunconnected links adapted to be shifted by said pusher into cooperativerelation with the bars and chain and guide means for advancing theunconnected links to and away from said pusher station.

4. In a knitting machine, the combination of shiftable thread guidedevices and pattern links for predeterminedly actuating the same, saidlinks being unconnected, guide means for carrying the unconnected linksinto position for actuating the thread guide devices, guide means forcarrying said. loose links away from said position and link actuatingmeans at said operating position.

5. In a knitting machine, the combination of superposed rows of threadguide devices, links for actuating the same, means for traversing saidlinks in a substantially vertically extending circuit, means foreffecting cooperative engagement of the links with said devicesincluding mechanism for temporarily removing said links from andreturning them back into said circuit.

6. In a knitting machine, the combination of loose pattern links, aguide way for said links, means for feeding the links to said guideway,means for advancing said links in said guideway and guide meanspositioned to receive the links at an advanced position in saidguideway.

7. In a knitting machine, the combination of pattern links, a guidewayfor receiving the same, a pusher for advancing the pattern links in saidguideway, guide means extending from an advanced point in said guideway,said pusher having a stroke to carry the links as far as the guide meansin its advancing movement and constructed to support the links in theforward travel to the guide means but adapted to release the links tosaid guide means on the return travel of the same.

8. In a knitting machine, the combination of a substantially horizontalway, a feedingin chute at the rearward portion of said guideway, afeeding out chute extending from a forward portion of the way, patternlinks operable in said chutes and way, an impeller adapted to carry thelinks in said way from a position at the feeding-in chute to a positionbeyond the feeding out chute, said impeller having a cooperativeengagement with the links to support the same in the forward stroke overthe feeding out chute and to release the links into the feeding outchute on the return stroke. g

9. In a knitting machine, the combination of a substantially horizontalway, a feedingin chute at the rearward portion of said guideway, afeeding out chute extending from a forward portion of the way, patternlinks operable in said chutes and way, an impeller adapted to carry thelinks in said way from a position at the feeding-in chute to a positionbeyond the feeding out chute, said impeller having a cooperativeengagement with the links to support the same in the forward stroke overthe feeding out chute and to release the links into the feeding outchute on the return stroke and stripper mechanism for definitelyseparating the links from the impeller in position to enter the feedingout chute.

10. In a knitting machine, the combination of thread gnide'devices,pattern links for actuating the same, a pusher for advancing the patternlinks to the thread guide devices, means for guiding the pattern linksinto position for actuation by said pusher, guide means for directingthe links advanced by the pusher away from the pusher and mechanism fordefinitely shifting the links advanced by the pusher to said latterguide means.

11. In a. knitting machine, the combination of thread guide devices,pattern links for actuating the same, a pusher for advancing the patternlinks to the thread guide devices, means for guiding the pattern linksinto position for actuation by said pusher, guide means for directingthe links advanced by the pusher away from the pusher, mechanism fordefinitely shifting the links advanced by the pusher to said latterguide means and means for carrying the links from said latter guidemeans back to the first guide means.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOSEPH F. MEYER.

